Developing a Competency Model for Information Governance in Public Administration

Good Information Governance (IG) practices are becoming increasingly important in the current digital area. In current literature, the focus mostly lies on the organizational level principles or practices when discussing Information governance. There is little attention to how this translates into the necessary competencies for employees, however. With this article, we aim to bridge this gap by suggesting a competency model for employees involved in IG within public administration. We conducted an extensive literature review and two focus groups, which resulted in the definition of six competency areas subdivided into 22 competency subjects. These include skills and knowledge related to the artifact “Information” (e.g. managing information, determining an information strategy), knowledge about related laws and regulations, and competencies related to instigating change and innovation in an organisation. Also, different aspects related to personal effectiveness have been identified (e.g. presenting, and organizational sensibility). These competency areas and subjects can inform the recruitment and selection process, and the training and development process. They can help organizations adhere to the information governance principles that have already been defined on an organizational level.